Peter Davis (director)
Encyclopedia
Peter Frank Davis, born January 2, 1937, is an American filmmaker, author and journalist.
and Tess Slesinger
, and after his mother's death in 1945, Isabelle Fair Wrangell became his stepmother. Davis attended both public and private schools, graduating from Chadwick School in Palos Verdes, CA. He went on to Harvard University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1957 with a A.B. in English Literature. After college, Davis worked briefly for The New York Times
and served in the U.S. Army (1959-1960). From 1961 to 1964, he worked on FDR, a 26-part television series for which he interviewed President Roosevelt's family, friends, enemies, Cabinet members and political associates.
In 1965, Davis moved to CBS News
as a writer and worked on documentaries about student rebellion, homosexuality, slavery, the Six Day War, racism and hunger in America. His 1971 film for CBS News, The Selling of the Pentagon, an investigation of U.S. Defense Department public relations, won the Peabody, Emmy, Polk, Ohio State, Saturday Review and Writers Guild Awards. Davis' Hearts and Minds
, a film about American military action in Vietnam
, won the Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary for the year 1974, as well as France's Prix Georges-Sadoul. His subsequent project, the Middletown series for PBS, received 10 Emmy nominations and two Emmys. Individual films from the series won the Blue Ribbon at the American Film Festival and the First Prize Feature Documentary at the Sundance Festival. JACK, a film he made with his son, the filmmaker Nick Davis
, was nominated for two Emmys and won one in 1994.
Davis has written three nonfiction books: Hometown (1982), Where Is Nicaragua? (1987), and If You Came This Way (1995). He has reported for The Nation magazine, for which he covered the U.S. War in Iraq. He has also written for Esquire
, The New York Times Magazine
, New York Woman, The Boston Globe, and The Los Angeles Times.
Davis has been married three times. His first wife was the late novelist Johanna (Mankiewicz) Davis, with whom he had two children, Tim Davis (1963) and Nick Davis (1965). His second wife is the entrepreneur Karen Zehring, with whom he had two children, Jesse Harper Zehring Davis (1980) and Antonia Isabelle Zehring Davis (1981). Davis and Zehring divorced in 1995. In 2003, Davis married the journalist Alicia Anstead, and he has one stepdaughter Kristen Anstead. Davis has five grandchildren. He lives in Castine, Maine.
Biography
Davis was born in Santa Monica, and grew up in Upland and Pacific Palisades, CA. His parents were the screenwriters Frank DavisFrank Davis
Frank Davis is a gridiron football guard for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League. He was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2006...
and Tess Slesinger
Tess Slesinger
Tess Slesinger was a Jewish-American writer and screenwriter and is credited as being a charter member of the New York intellectual scene....
, and after his mother's death in 1945, Isabelle Fair Wrangell became his stepmother. Davis attended both public and private schools, graduating from Chadwick School in Palos Verdes, CA. He went on to Harvard University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1957 with a A.B. in English Literature. After college, Davis worked briefly for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and served in the U.S. Army (1959-1960). From 1961 to 1964, he worked on FDR, a 26-part television series for which he interviewed President Roosevelt's family, friends, enemies, Cabinet members and political associates.
In 1965, Davis moved to CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
as a writer and worked on documentaries about student rebellion, homosexuality, slavery, the Six Day War, racism and hunger in America. His 1971 film for CBS News, The Selling of the Pentagon, an investigation of U.S. Defense Department public relations, won the Peabody, Emmy, Polk, Ohio State, Saturday Review and Writers Guild Awards. Davis' Hearts and Minds
Hearts and Minds (film)
Hearts and Minds is a 1974 American documentary film about the Vietnam War directed by Peter Davis. The film's title is based on a quote from President Lyndon B. Johnson: "the ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live out there"...
, a film about American military action in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, won the Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary for the year 1974, as well as France's Prix Georges-Sadoul. His subsequent project, the Middletown series for PBS, received 10 Emmy nominations and two Emmys. Individual films from the series won the Blue Ribbon at the American Film Festival and the First Prize Feature Documentary at the Sundance Festival. JACK, a film he made with his son, the filmmaker Nick Davis
Nick Davis
Nick Davis may refer to:* Nick Davis , American football player* Nick Davis , Australian rules footballer* Nick Davis * Nick Davis * Nick Davis, a character on All My Children...
, was nominated for two Emmys and won one in 1994.
Davis has written three nonfiction books: Hometown (1982), Where Is Nicaragua? (1987), and If You Came This Way (1995). He has reported for The Nation magazine, for which he covered the U.S. War in Iraq. He has also written for Esquire
Esquire
Esquire is a term of West European origin . Depending on the country, the term has different meanings...
, The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
, New York Woman, The Boston Globe, and The Los Angeles Times.
Davis has been married three times. His first wife was the late novelist Johanna (Mankiewicz) Davis, with whom he had two children, Tim Davis (1963) and Nick Davis (1965). His second wife is the entrepreneur Karen Zehring, with whom he had two children, Jesse Harper Zehring Davis (1980) and Antonia Isabelle Zehring Davis (1981). Davis and Zehring divorced in 1995. In 2003, Davis married the journalist Alicia Anstead, and he has one stepdaughter Kristen Anstead. Davis has five grandchildren. He lives in Castine, Maine.
Films
- The Berkeley Rebels (writer, 1965)
- Hunger in America (writer, 1968)
- The Heritage of Slavery (writer/producer, 1968)
- Once Upon a Wall (producer, 1969)
- The Battle of East St. Louis (writer/producer, 1969)
- The Selling of the Pentagon (writer/producer, 1971)
- Hearts and Minds (director/co-producer, 1974)
- Middletown Series (creator/producer, 1982)
- The Best Hotel on Skid Row (producer, 1990)
- Age 7 in America (writer) 1992
- JACK (co-writer/executive producer, 1993)